Rock and Roller
by Last Haven
Summary: Arthur may not be the best rocker in the world, but Alfred loves him all the same.


**Made for the 365daysofusuk on tumblr.**

* * *

"So, are you coming to the show tonight?"

Alfred was glad that Winston, his and Arthur's bulldog, took that moment to toss one end of his pull toy into Alfred's lap. With a loud cackle, Alfred grabbed the offered end and began to play with the half grown pup. It gave him the perfect excuse to not answer right then.

Did he honestly want to go to Arthur's gig? Did he want to drag home a drunk Arthur, yowling like a cat in heat as he sang some decrepit pop ballad? He always came home drunk because each show was always a disappointment; only their twenty or so loyal roadies came to their show willingly, the rest would be the unfortunate patrons of whatever bar the band manager had managed to bully or sucker the bar owner into letting them perform. Did he want to be bored the rest of the night pretending to nod along while covertly playing games on his phone?

But on the other hand, did he want Arthur to get so smashed that he'd harass their neighbors trying to remember which door was theirs? Did he want to see his boyfriend moping for the rest of the week, feeling jilted and then spiteful in turns?

Arthur sighed on the other end of the line. "Look—you don't have to stay long if you got work, but at least come for a bit?"

Alfred's heart sank; he felt like kicking himself. "Give me twenty minutes so I can talk Ludwig into looking after Winston for awhile."

His boyfriend's tone instantly perked up. "Ludwig loves dogs. It won't take that long."

"Yeah, probably. See you in a bit." He turned off his phone and let himself sigh. He looked down at Winston. "Well, buddy, I guess I should pick up something for the migraine I'll be having at the end of the night." Winston shook his whole back end with glee.

After finagling with Ludwig to take Winston in for the night, Alfred went back for his coat and then left the apartment. Kicking a stone, he thought back to what had made him fall in love with a hopeless rocker like Arthur.

It hadn't been Arthur's charm and good looks—well, Arthur was an unconventional kind of handsome with his short stature, straw-like hair, and caterpillar eyebrows. He had been drunkenly brandishing a bottle at a man the first time Alfred saw him. Once Alfred found out that Arthur was only trying to help one of his fans fend off the unwanted advances of an asshole, he'd warmed up to him enough that he'd agreed to come to one of his concerts. He ended up missing it, which was probably for the best since it would have only killed any kind of interest he'd had then, but they had hooked afterward anyway.

No, looking at it, Alfred hadn't fallen for him until after they'd had sex. They were lying in bed, mumbling about nonsense until they'd hit on the subject of the future. Suddenly, Arthur snapped to with a fire and vivacity that made Alfred sit up and listen. By the time Arthur trailed off, a little embarrassed by his own enthusiasm, Alfred was already besotted.

Alfred was a person going somewhere with his own dreams; what he wanted most was someone with ambitions of their own that could relate. Not like Alfred's parents who'd laughed at his dream to be a photographer until he slapped down a National Geographic magazine with his pictures on the inside. Maybe Arthur's band wasn't ever going to go anywhere, but at least he was trying.

By the time he'd reached the bar, he was running for the door, eager to find Arthur. When the door swung open, he paused—for the first time in, well, most likely since the band gotten together the entire bar was full. The usual roadies were there, but Alfred didn't see anyone at the instruments. Had they finished early, or were they taking a break? Stranger still, looking at the crowd, Alfred recognized many of the people there—friends, coworkers, Matthew and his wife, and most shockingly, Arthur's siblings who were, last Alfred knew, supposed to be halfway across the globe.

Before he could spot Arthur, someone caught sight of him and let out a cheer. Gilbert at the bar waved him over to a knot of people who welcomed him with cheer and thumps on the back. "Look who finally dragged his ass to the party," Gilbert grinned.

Alfred shot a look at the crowd around them. "Is it someone's birthday?"

Erzsébet giggled, ignoring Alfred's confused glance. "Something like that."

Gilbert laughed as he walked away. "I'll let Kirkland know you're here." Alfred frowned after him, but he had no time to ask what was up before a friend swung an arm around his shoulders and dragged him to find some more of their friends.

Ten minutes passed, but each time he tried to untangle himself to find Arthur, someone ambushed him. The crowd was growing nearly as restless as Alfred by the time Arthur and his band got back to the stage. Alfred beamed when he saw Arthur shamble towards the microphone, but then frowned when the band started playing a pop song.

"Why are they playing that? Arthur hates that song," Alfred murmured, cocking his head to the side.

Matthew choked on his drink while Yekaterina beamed.

Frowning at them, he turned back to see that Arthur had hopped off the stage and was walking towards him. Alfred smiled, both amused and bemused. That smile slipped off his face as Arthur fumbled with a box in his pocket, presenting Alfred a simple gold band when he finally got the box open.

"I wanna marry you," Arthur finished crooning. His smile was shaky but warm.

Shaking his head, Alfred knocked the mic and ring aside as he pulled his fiancé in for a kiss.


End file.
